Hope That Sees Us Through
For the month of December, you will see more posts than usual in your email. This month I wanted to celebrate Christ’s birth by getting some friends to share a story or posts this month.
I have six guest posts for the month of December. Not all of their stories are happy, because we know that bad things can still happen around the holidays. We must all be aware that some people are hurting during Christmas. I hope all of these posts speak to you in different ways.
The second post for December is from Betty Kulich.
As we approach this Advent season and the lighting of the Advent Candles, it reminds us of the Christmas Story, the birth of our Savior, and Jesus Christ. The very first candle is the Hope candle. It reminds us of the provisions for eternal life we gain by making Jesus our Lord.
But what about hope for the current season we are dealing with? What if you need hope in a current troubling or trying circumstance? Is there a provision of hope for now?
In the week leading up to Thanksgiving and the beginning of family celebrations, I needed a fresh supply of hope and a deeper depth to my faith storehouse—not for eternal life, but for hope in a serious family crisis right now. My 47-year-old daughter had a massive stroke that left her unable to function as a mother and nurse. Unfortunately, being alone at home, she wasn’t found until dinner time, long after the window for the miracle shot that reduces the stroke’s effects.
What was her future going to be? How would this crisis forever change the family dynamics? My daughter has four children; a single young adult struggling to make it on his own, a senior in pre-med at university feeling the stress of good grades and upcoming exams, a sophomore in high school trying to find his adult identity and a second grader who is the center of the household. All of them need a healthy mom. I needed hope that going forward life could be good for my daughter and family.
Hope that is an anchor
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
Hebrews 6:19 (NKJV)
Jesus is my Lord, and He is my daily peace. But now. I needed more than just peace. Jesus was the only one who could give me a hopeful future for my daughter and family–an anchor in this life storm and sea of unknown outcomes. I needed Jesus to be big for a big situation. My soul needed firm and secure hope.
I needed Jesus to be big for a big situation. My soul needed firm and secure hope. #BettyKulich #Hope #HopethatSeesUsThrough #Christmastime #ThisSideofHeaven
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The emotions of a mother’s heart for her helpless, hurting child threaten to become a raging storm filled with waves of grief, winds of torment and flashes illuminating scary glimpses of possible crippling aftereffects. My firm foundation was suddenly quaking, shaking, and swaying like a magnitude seven earthquake.
The future hopes were crumbling even as they rushed her down for a head scan while doctors spoke of brain swelling and emergency surgery. Scriptures had to become a reality at a level I never needed before. My hope had to become anchored and tethered, my faith firm and secure.
Looking for the Glorious Hope
“This same grace teaches us how to live each day… and it equips us to live self-controlled, upright, godly lives in this present age. For we continue to wait for the fulfillment of our hope in… our great God and Savior, Jesus.”
Titus 2:12 -13 (TPT)
I cried out to Jesus to be the Rock that securely anchored my emotions, so I could weather this storm. Immediately, I felt a fresh new installment of faith, peace, and hope come, firmly securing my thoughts and emotions.
Self-control arose when all I wanted was to collapse into a puddle of tears. Where I was weak and wanting someone to comfort me, Jesus comforted the four grandchildren through me. Hope pushed back the darkness, bringing calmness and rays of glorious hope for life from this death of future dreams.
Hope Has a Name
“Lord, the only thing I can do is wait and put my hope in you. I wait for your help, my God.”
Psalm 38:15 (TPT)
There is a song titled Hope Has a Name.
“On mountains high and valleys low, my soul will rest, my confidence, in You alone. Hope has a name; His name is Jesus.”
Hope Has a Name
My hope and that of the family came to rest on Jesus Christ and what He will do in the days ahead. He alone can become our needed emotional strength, uniquely tailored for each of us. Only He could keep her brain from swelling necessitating a dangerous surgery. Additionally, I knew only Jesus could fix her body, creating pathways of blood flow and nerves so she could regain her ability to walk and use her arm and hand. Only Jesus, as the Creator of her body, could heal her.
Through this valley of the shadow of death, we could all pass, guided by Jesus, our Rock and Hope. Now this Christmas I will sing O Holy Night with a new understanding of “a thrill of hope, my weary soul rejoices.”
Hope will see me through the unknown days ahead. Hope is Jesus, and He is enough.
Meet Betty Kulich:
She is an ordained pastor and serves as an Associate Pastor, alongside her husband at the Redeemer’s church, Columbus, Ohio. Married for 49 years, she has one daughter and four grandchildren. In addition to her responsibilities at the church, Betty serves as the Women’s Ministry Director for Harvest Preparation International Ministries of Sarasota, Florida for Mexico & Central America. Winner of the 2021 CIPA Book Award for General Fiction and Winner of the 2020 Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, she hosts short vlogs on Facebook called “Life Outside the Pages”.
